Weekly transmissions from our shared future.

What Will World War III Look Like?

We assume that the next world war will be a technological one, but the United States and its potential adversaries are increasingly developing tech designed to blast enemies into the past. In Ghost Fleet, real cybersecurity and war experts Peter W. Singer and August Cole explore what would actually happen in a war between the United States and China. There’s drones and hacking, sure, but what happens when our space capabilities are taken offline? What happens if China hacks all the microchips we bought from them?

In this version of the future, war is as gritty and as human as it’s ever been. Singer footnotes the entire book with references to actual technology, speeches, military plots and documents to add a layer of realism not seen in most sci fi. Radio Motherboard talks to Singer about writing the book, and the staff discusses how climate-induced strife and constant cyberattacks and hacking incidents has already plunged much of the world into conflict.